IMAGE – COLE KEISTER ON UNSPLASH

IMAGE –  MIKA BAUMEISTER ON UNSPLASH

IMAGES –  (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP)
RAY HENNESY, JOHN DUNCAN & CALVIN MANO  ON UNSPLASH

IMAGES –  UNSPLASH (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP)
VERO PHOTOART, ANKHESENAMUN & ELENA KLOPPENBURG

IMAGE – GARDENIA

With showy fluffy blooms and lush grassy leaves, it’s no wonder this perennial is one of our favourites! It blooms from mid-summer to fall, then turns a rich bronze colour. It performs best in full sun (6+ hours) and is often visited by birds, butterflies and hummingbirds.

IMAGE – GARDENIA

False indigo provides all-season interest, beginning in late spring to early summer with pea-shaped indigo blooms that if left untrimmed turn into interesting black seed pods that add winter interest. The foliage almost looks tropical like a eucalyptus leaf. It does best in full sun to part shade (4+ hours of sun).

IMAGE – GARDENIA

The fragrant feathery clusters of pale pink flowers can reach heights of 6′-8′ tall! These stunning blooms last from early to late summer and are especially attractive to butterflies. This plant does best in full sun to part shade.

IMAGE – GARDENIA

Doesn’t this bright sunny yellow flower just make you so happy? Their nectar is also attractive to a ton of pollinators including butterflies, moths, bees and beetles. It grows in small clumps with blooms that last from late spring to mid-summer. It does best in full sun to part shade.

IMAGE – INATURALIST

This graceful wildflower features huge flat clusters of white flowers on tall stems. It also has a nice fern-like foliage. It blooms from early to late summer and does best in full sun. It’s great for attracting butterflies to your garden.

IMAGE – GARDENIA

This long-lasting garden staple has purple daisy-like coneflowers on a tall stem. It’s rich in nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds and if left to overwinter, the flowerheads become seed for birds. The seed heads also add winter interest to the garden. It does best in full sun to part shade.

IMAGE – BLAZINGSTAR GARDENS

This is a great option for those of you looking for a smaller plant that can be used as a garden border plant or groundcover. It prefers full sun to part shade and is attractive to bees, flies, beetles and butterflies, but not deer or rabbits. It produces pretty lilac-pink flowers from late spring to early summer and its foliage turns a bright red in the fall.

IMAGE – GARDENIA

This is a great option for those difficult shady spots! Foam flower is another low-growing plant with multi-season interest. It performs best in part sun to full shade and blooms from late spring to early summer and then it turns a reddish-bronze colour in the autumn and winter.

IMAGE – GARDENIA

A great accent plant for the late summer and fall, when its white fluffy spikes of fragrant flowers shoot up above the rest of the garden. It attracts birds and butterflies, but deer don’t care for it much. This perennial does best in part sun to full shade.

IMAGE – GARDENIA

This plant features unique origami-like blooms from late spring to early summer. It prefers full to part sun and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, but doesn’t interest rabbits or deer. In optimal conditions, this plant will self-seed and you’ll find it popping up throughout the garden, without being invasive.